


Prentiss' Secret

by Annide



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Angst, Baby, Coming Back, F/M, Leaving, Passion, Pregnancy, Secrets, more than friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-25
Updated: 2014-01-25
Packaged: 2018-01-09 22:49:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1151734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annide/pseuds/Annide
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prentiss left the BAU to work in London. Now she's coming back to help them, but she has a secret.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Prentiss' Secret

**Author's Note:**

> Refers to the episodes Hit & Run. And works around the still unaired 200th.
> 
> I kept bringing up a Hotchniss baby, so I made it into a fic.

JJ was in danger, but all Emily could think about during the long travel was Aaron Hotchner. How would she feel when she’d first see him? And more importantly, how could she look at him in the eye and keep the secret? They hadn’t talked since she left the BAU. She kept in contact with everyone else but, after the pregnancy test came back positive, she couldn’t handle taking his calls. He’d sense something was going on. She could never lie to him. But she couldn’t tell him the truth either. She couldn’t say the words out loud. And what would be the point of bringing this burden on him. He was with Beth.

Jealousy invaded Emily every time she thought about that woman. How could Hotch stay with her after what happened? And in a long-distance relationship? If at least Beth lived close, Emily could handle it, but she didn’t. If Hotch could have a long-distance relationship with that woman, why not with her? Maybe if she’d told him about the baby, but she didn’t want to put that kind of pressure on him at first and then it just seemed like unnecessary pain. She was already away when she learned about the pregnancy and it was too late to go back. And he had moved on.

***

It was a joyous evening. The case had been particularly hard, with Will becoming a hostage, and it was nice to be able to celebrate all together. The wedding was beautiful. At first, everyone danced with their dates and the remaining people, like Emily, Dave and Spencer, danced in a group. But as the night went on, and the amount of alcohol in their blood rose, they started dancing with one another, just for fun, because they were happy to have something good happening in their lives.

Emily wanted to wait before telling people she was leaving but when she ended up dancing with Aaron she just couldn’t keep it from him.

“Hotch, I have to tell you something. I’m leaving the BAU. I just accepted a job for Interpol, in London.”

“We need to talk about this.”

He shot a glance around the yard before taking Emily’s hand and leading her inside, where they’d have more privacy to discuss the situation.

“Is this about me and Beth?”

“God, no. I wouldn’t take a big decision like this only because of that. I just need to do something new, have new challenges. And a great opportunity presented itself.”

Hotch didn’t know how to handle this news. His heart was breaking at the idea that he wouldn’t see her everyday anymore. Why did it take him so long to realise what he felt for her? What he thought was merely a great friendship now felt like much more.

He was staring at Emily, his eyes full of longing. He needed her. She’d always been there for him. When Foyet had stabbed him, she’d been the one to come looking for him. The others had just gone to work on a case but she had come looking. This is when he had started to see the feelings she had for him. And he thought all he felt was deep gratitude, how wrong had he been.

All those years, she’d loved him and he never returned the feelings. Now she was leaving, maybe for good, and all he wanted was to be with her. So, without thinking, finally letting his heart take over, he cupped Emily’s head with his hands and leaned forward to kiss her. She was surprised at first but she returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck. He passionately pushed her toward the nearest room and closed the door behind them.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Emily asked, for an instant concerned by the presence of her lover’s girlfriend outside.

“Don’t say anything.”

He whispered in her ear as he started to take off her dress. He didn’t want to think about anything other than the woman in front of him and the fact he almost lost her permanently that same day. He pushed her against the wall, furiously kissing her shoulders, her neck, and her mouth as she undid the buttons of his shirt.

They made love against the wall of this random room. It was desperate and felt like it had been long overdue. It was goodbye, between a man and a woman who loved each other deeply but never let their feelings fulfil themselves. And when they were done, they shared a last kiss and Prentiss left. They didn’t talk about it; they didn’t see each other again.

***

Emily had learned she was pregnant weeks later, when she was settled in London and her friends had gone back to Quantico. She had thought of calling Hotch and telling him, but she didn’t. She couldn’t get herself to do it and then, well, then it became impossible to get the words out of her mouth. Now she was going back to help the team find JJ. She was going to see him and talk to him for the first time since that night. He would want an explanation for all his calls that she didn’t take. And she would have to give him one. She’d been dreading this moment for months.

When she first arrived, she easily avoided the subject. Things slip your mind when your best friend has been kidnapped and you need to find her, hoping with all you had that you can make it in time. So they worked the case, like usual. Except one of their own had been taken this time. And it brought back memories of Reid being taken by Hankel, Hotch’s ex-wife being killed by Foyet and, of course, herself being abducted by Doyle. But, as always, they figured it out and saved JJ.

Hotch and Prentiss found themselves alone together. You could feel how much they missed each other. They stared at each other for a while. None of them knew what to say. Working together again, like old times, had felt great for both of them. It was natural and familiar. And they were such a great team.

“How much longer do we have you?”

“I’m having a bad day.”

Tears started streaming down her face and he took her in his arms. After a while, she was finally able to talk. And she told him everything. She told him how she discovered she was pregnant weeks after their night together, how she spent months of pregnancy wanting to call him but not being able to get herself to do it and bring this pressure onto him. She told him how excruciating giving birth was and how it seemed like nothing when silence invaded the room, how her heart broke in a thousand pieces when she realised the baby wasn’t going to cry, how it seemed like the end of the world when she saw the blue lifeless baby who was still alive and kicking inside her an hour earlier. And he held her, a hand stroking her hair, until she stopped crying. They didn’t know where they would go from now, but one thing one sure, they wouldn’t ever let go of one another.


End file.
